Chronicles: Lupa's story
by sheelaflower
Summary: Because everybody has their story to tell sidestory to Dimensional Travels
1. The pup called Lupa

**This is a sidestory of my fanfic 'Dimensional Travels'. All those who are reading it should know Lupa. This is her story, telling of how she was bullied as a kid to the point where she first met up with Violett, the hedgehog that asked Sonic and co for help so that she could stop Lupa from unintentionally destroying the thirteen dimensions.**

**For all those who haven't read it yet and now have questions like 'what's up with the thirteen dimensions?', go read Dimensional Travels. The answers are in that story.**

**I would do a disclaimer, but since none of the Sonic characters appear in this chapter, I don't really think that's necessary. Therefore I can only hope that you will enjoy.**

**Chapter 1 - The pup called Lupa**

The sun was already setting and that gave the entire world an orange hue. Only the clouds had a small tint of pink to them. Even though it was a beautiful evening, it wasn't enough to cheer Lupa up. It was warm outside, even though it was already so late. She should probably head home, but she didn't want to. The only thing she had done for the half an hour was to sit on the swing and stare at the floor and that's the only thing she wanted to do for the next few years. It was a stupid thought, sure, but it wasn't like anybody cared.

Why her? Lupa didn't understand. There were many other pups in her family, so why was she the only one who had white hair and red eyes? It would haunt her all her life. The other kids would always tease her, always bully her, always exclude her from everything. She wondered if there were any other pups out there that were born with red eyes or with white hair. Maybe even with both. Or maybe with completely white fur.

Wolves were usually dark furred, mostly black or brown. Some were red, a few were blonde. Unlike any other kind of animal, wolves usually didn't have fur colors like green or blue or purple unless they were a really dark shade. The only thing that happened every now and then was that a wolf with white hair or fur was born. One of them was her.

Wolves usually had black or brown eyes. Some were green and a few blue. Other colors only appeared when they were dark. Bright colors didn't often come with wolves. Only very few wolves were born with red eyes. One of them was her.

There were other animals there, but none of them dared interacting with the wolves. They were too powerful for that, too mighty and too old. To most other animals it seemed as if they were from a completely other world. A world of magic. That's the world Lupa grew up in.

Lupa's family held a record. They were the eldest family of mages in all thirteen dimensions. And not only the eldest, but the most powerful as well. And the biggest at that. The wolves had been there for eons, more millennias than Lupa could count. They were famous, renowned, so powerful that there was only one King and one Queen they would ever have to bow to.

Lupa was the pride of that family. She was a prodigy in a family of prodigies. The grownups said that she was the family's new pride. They all had high hopes for her. Someday, she would be at the top of their packs head. The wolves were a big family. They lived throughout all thirteen dimensions in packs like the one Lupa lived in. Her pack was one of the biggest. There were many grownups and many pups. The grownups loved her, the pups hated her. But in everybody's eyes, she was a freak. And she was only a four year old girl.

Wiping away her tears she jumped of her swing and started walking. She would have to go home, whether she liked it or not. If she didn't come home soon, her mother would be angry at her and take away her favorite toys. She always did that. Because Lupa was so talented, they all thought that they had to raise her more firmly than the others. After all, she was the family's biggest hope. Lupa didn't mind the tight schedules. It made sure that she didn't have time to think about the fact that she didn't have any friends. She only wished that they wouldn't punish her so hard when she did something wrong.

She didn't jump, like all the other kids did. She didn't run or jog or even look at the clouds. She walked like a scared little kitten would, cowered together with her gaze firmly on the ground in front of her. She didn't see the trees around her or the buildings or the people walking past her only to turn around and take a look at the famous prodigy of the famous wolves. The freak with the white hair and the red eyes.

"Lupa!"

Was she already home? She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed. Lupa looked up. No, she wasn't home yet. She was still in the middle of the streets. But her mother was here anyways. She had gone out looking for her, that's why she was here. The pup had sat on that swing a bit too long after all. She was bound to be punished now.

"There you are, Lupa. I've been looking for you. Come on, child. There's something I have to show you."

Lupa looked at her mother with big, red innocent eyes. She was a beautiful woman. Her fur was a dark shade of grey mixed with light brown. Her hair was long and curly and her eyes were pitch-black. She was the most beautiful woman in the entire pack. Her magic abilities weren't too bad either. Her specialty was defense magic and she had already saved many lives with it. When she was young, every man had wanted her, trying to make her their partner. She chose only one and that was Lupa's father.

Lupa was very proud of her mother. Every time she saw her she thought that someday, she wanted to be like her. She would definitely become like her mother; strong, beautiful and popular. When seeing her, Lupa smiled and stretched out her arms, showing her mother that she wanted to be carried. Her mother smiled weakly and picked her little daughter of the floor, carrying her back to the house.

The daughter of her grandfather's cousin was just giving birth. There would be new pups in only a moment's time. The rest of the pack was already there, but only the other pups saw them coming and scooted away immediately. They always did. They didn't want to get too close to the freak. But today Lupa didn't mind. New pups were about to be born and that took all her attention. She sat down as close as possible, watching with big eyes.

The soon to be mother seemed to be in great pain. She was moaning and panting and sweating and screaming. Lupa wished she could help her, but her auntie already did a great job.

They came. Lupa only saw the tip of a tiny head at first, then a pair of ears popped out. The eyes were next, the nose and the mouth and then the entire head was out. Its body came right after. It already had fur, but it was wet and there were spots of blood on it. Lupa ears perked up when another head started coming. Once that was out, another one followed and another one and one last. Four pups were born that evening. How many of them would survive their first year? Lupa knew that she used to have five siblings, but she was the only one who had survived her first year. Her mother used to have two sisters, now she only had one left and that was the one taking care of the new mother.

Exactly that mother finally had her pups in her hands now and licked them off tenderly. The pups were so small, much smaller than Lupa was and they were so helpless. Their eyes were closed and they could hardly crawl. Yet, they were already making their way to her breasts to drink some milk. There were four pups and only two tits, but they managed nonetheless.

The pup that had come out second was the first at the teat and was already drinking when the others came after. The one that had come out first got the other teat and the other two were fighting for the Milk. The one that had come last was ultimately pushed away and rolled helplessly to Lupa's feet. Lupa's eyes went wide and she wanted to pick the little newborn up and bring it back to its mother, but her mother stopped her from doing so. He would have to find his own way back.

The little cup unrolled himself and for the first time, everybody could see that the very tip of his tail was white; white like Lupa's hair. Lupa's eyes got even bigger at that, if that was possible. The newborn tried bring himself into a crawling position, but toppled over his own feet. Lupa giggled. It was so cute to watch it. Finally, it managed to stay on all fours and sniffed. It couldn't see yet, so it had to find another way back to its mother. But it smelled something even nicer than its mother clumsily made its way towards that smell, topping over every now and then. Luckily, it wasn't far until it reached the source of the scent and it scratched on Lupa's leg.

All the other wolves seemed shocked at that. They gasped and whispered and some even took a step back. Lupa looked at her mother and smiled widely when she nodded. Without saying a word, she picked up the newborn and giggled when it cuddled its head into her fur. She walked to its mother with a wide smile on her face. Of all the wolves in the room, she seemed to be the only one who wasn't shocked at her pup's actions. She just smiled at the two gently.

"What's its name?" Lupa asked.

The mother stretched out a hand and brushed over Lupa's pearly white hair.

"Why don't you give him one?"

"Me?" Lupa's eyes got as wide as the eyes of a child could get. "But I don't know any names."

"That's okay. Some mothers are looking for the right names for months, so you have enough times to learn some."

"And can he be my new friend?"

"If he survives his first year then he can."

"Really? Then I'll make sure that he survives his first year. Is that okay?"

The mother chuckled weakly and smiled at the young female wolf.

"If you manage to do that, then yes. But don't be too disappointed if he doesn't. Newborns are very, very weak creatures."

Lupa nodded enthusiastically and held out the baby for his mother to take. She took the invitation and the newborn was soon in his mother's arms, fast asleep. The other cups soon fell asleep as well and the entire litter was safely protected, surrounded the warmth of their mother's body.

"Come on, Lupa", Lupa's own mother said. "It's time for you to go to bed. The sun has already set."

Lupa took one last glance at the packs newest cups before she followed her mother. She had finally found a friend. This was the best day ever.

$($

The elders had nothing to complain about when they were training Lupa. Tasks the others always had problems with had never managed to get Lupa to break into sweat. At the age of three she had been far ahead of the others. Now she was training separately. The grownups said that the other cups would only hold her back if she trained with them.

"Well Lupa, what can you see?"

What Lupa had to describe was what she saw when her eyes were closed. In the past half a year, they had trained her in something they called 'the second face', the ability to see with your eyes closed. The things you saw with the second face were different then what you saw with your eyes. You could expand the second face as far as you wanted. You could focus on seeing only one thing or see everything in a huge area. The way you saw things were different as well. You didn't see the skin or the fur of something, but the aura, its very presence. If it was a living thing you saw then you also saw its soul.

Lupa was far past trying to see the souls of the wolves inside the room. She had to expand as far as she could and focus only on what she saw there. And so she did. Without losing focus for even a minute she told the elders what she saw. She told them about the river on the outskirts of the city, about the different kind of plants and trees living there and about the animals that got pulled back to nature.

The elders were impressed, as always. The river was almost three miles away. For a child of the age four to be able to look that far was something that had never existed before. Nobody had ever been able to have such control at such a young age.

They announced that this part of Lupa's training was finished. If she ever needed to look farther, she would be able to do it with a bit of practice. They would go on to the next part of training. But not today. Lupa had been training for three hours now. She needed a break. The day was almost over anyways, let the child have at least a little bit of fun.

The pup bowed politely before she turned on her heels and stormed out of the room. As fast as she could she ran across the grounds and stopped at the part of the house where she would find her new friend. She knocked on the door.

"Auntie Melanie, can I come in?"

The question was answered through the opening of the door. The packs youngest mother was standing in the doorway, gesturing the young female to enter. Lupa smiled and walked into the room. It was the same room where the pups had been born three weeks ago. One had already died, now there were three left. The one with the white tip on his tail was amongst them.

"Shane!" Lupa cried happily.

The young wolf's ears perked up at the voice calling his name. About a week ago, the pups had opened their eyes. Lupa had been disappointed to see that his eyes weren't red, but pitch black, just like most of his fur. The white tip on his tail was an extreme contrast to that, but it made him look cool. But Shane was still too young to worry about that. He just crawled to Lupa, squeaking in delight that she was here.

He was the smallest out of all the pups, the most fragile. And yet, he was the liveliest of them all and the only one that wasn't scared of Lupa. On the other hand, the other three newborns stayed away from him as well. It was probably because of the white tip. But Lupa didn't mind that, just like Shane didn't seem to mind her white hair and her red eyes. Of all the wolves she had met, he was the very first who liked her the way she was.

Even her own mother had problems excepting her appearance every now and then. It was clear that she loved her, but Lupa really wished that she would love the way she looked as well. That she didn't mind that her daughter was different.

"Auntie Melanie, can I play with Shane outside?" Lupa asked.

"Only if you promise me to take good care of him. And don't leave the wolves' property, get it?"

Lupa nodded enthusiastically, heaved the pup up and ran outside. Shane was already fighting to get down again. He was a moody child. Sometimes he liked being carried by Lupa. Then he would roll up and cuddle into Lupa's dark grey fur. At other times he would only allow her to hold him for a few seconds before he would struggle to get back down to the ground. But he was always, always happy to see her.

It was evening again, pretty much the only time of the day Lupa got to spend without learning or training. But the sun was warm and there was no wind. Shane was in no danger to die through a cold or even the flu. The female put Shane down and started walking away from him. He followed immediately.

"Come on Shane. Try and catch me!"

Shane didn't have to be told twice. As fast as he could he crawled after the elder pup. She walked slow enough not to frustrate her new friend and make him cry. Whenever he toppled over she would run back to him and pick him up. Then she would pat his head and cuddle with him a bit until he was laughing again. After that, the game continued.

If only the other kids wouldn't have so much time. They were already approaching again. No doubt they would come to bully her, like they always did. There were elder pups, such who almost couldn't be called pups anymore and even one that was younger than her. Usually, Lupa gritted her teeth and handled them as good as she could, but this time Shane was with her. The tip of his tail was white. Was that enough reason for the other kids to bully him, too? If it was, she would have to make sure he stayed safe. After all, he wasn't even a month old.

"Look who's here; the freak", one of the older pups said.

"And she has another freak with her", another one of them added.

Lupa just stared at them untouched. She knew from experience that it was best not to show how much these words hurt. Shane was off good for now. He didn't understand what they said yet, so words couldn't hurt him. He just stared at the other kids with his big, black eyes.

The oldest pup, a female, walked to her and pulled on her short white hair. Lupa screamed in pain and gripped the hands, trying to get it off her hair, but the grip was firm and there was nothing she could do.

"Look, everybody", the girl snickered. "Isn't that beautiful hair?"

The others snickered with her, not caring that their victim already had tears in her eyes from the pain. But she gritted her teeth, determined not to show how much it hurt. They would never get the better of her. Another one, a boy this time, came close as well and looked deep into young female's eyes. The grin on his face was huge.

"Don't you just love these eyes? They have the color of blood. I wonder if freaky here is a vampire."

He was about to poke into Lupa's eyes, but she closed her eyes tightly and turned her head away. When the boy wasn't expecting it, she turned back and bit him as hard as she could. He screamed in pain and she could taste the blood of his finger. That's when she let go and spit the blood in the boy's face.

"I'm not a vampire", she spat. "I'm a wolf, like you!"

The girl with the grip on her hair pulled on it and pushed her to the ground that way. She refused to make a sound, but she started panicking when Shane crawled to her and barked cutely in worry over her friend. She would have to bring him away from them or they would pick on him, too. She couldn't. The boy she had bit pushed her to the ground with his foot, assisted by all the others, except for one. That one was just grabbing Shane's tail and heaving him up the ground by that.

"Look, there's freak junior", he sneered and all the others joined.

That went too far. Up until now, she had never tried to defend herself, knowing that they would just go at her even worse. Her mother said that what drove them was not only her looks, but the fact that they were jealous at her talent. If she ever used magic against them, they would do horrible things to her. But now they weren't only bullying her, but her only friend as well and that friend was a newborn baby. She had to do something.

She concentrated everything on the mana inside her body, something that only she was able to feel. All the others couldn't do that yet. And she knew that, if she released it all, they would be pushed back fiercely. She had tried it before on her doll. If it was to protect Shane, then she would go so far. That's what she did. And it had the effect she wanted. All the kids pushing her down got blown away and landed painfully on their backs. Lupa released some more mana and her fur and hair fluttered as if there was wind. Then she stood up and glared at the boy holding up the crying Shane. She was only four years old, but she looked so dangerous that the boy put him down gently. Then she stepped in front of Shane and glared at the kids that had bullied her.

"Go away and leave us alone", she ordered. "Leave us alone or I will do much, much scarier things."

The oldest girl stood up and glared back, trying not to look impressed by Lupa's threat.

"Like what?" she asked.

In an instant, Lupa had summoned even more mana and threw it all at the girl. She yelled and flew ten feet backwards before she landed on her back again. That's when the others stood up and ran. Only one stopped to help the girl up, but once that was done, they ran as well.

Lupa stumbled. Never before had she used so much magic at once. She felt like she had run a twenty miles marathon. Too weak to stand upright, she let herself fall on her knees. For some reason, she was suddenly hungry. Did that have to do with her using magic?

Shane pulled on her fur. Lupa turned around when she felt it. He was crying silently, obviously scared. Never had he been treated like that. Lupa smiled sadly and took him into her arms, were he rolled into a ball and cuddled against her chest. He was sobbing silently and she stroked his head gently. She should bring him back to his mother. As she walked back to the house, she hoped that she would still be allowed to play with Shane. After all, he was her only friend.

**There we go. This was the first chapter of the first Chronicles. The first? Yes! I'm already working on the next one, namely Blaze's story. I plan on doing Chronicles for most of the Sonic characters that appear in my Dimensional Travels.**

**If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you have any suggestions, feel free to name them. If you have any critique, feel free to tell me. If you have any other reasons to review, please do. Thank you all for reading this fic.**

**Sheelaflower**


	2. The prodigy called Lupa

**Blaze does not belong to me, everybody and everything else does, though.**

**Chapter two: The prodigy called Lupa**

As always, all looks were drawn towards the young wolf walking down the streets. Her strong hips were swaying with every step she took and her fluffy tail swayed with it. Her long, wavy white hair was flowing in the wind and her red eyes were as cold as ice, giving her a look that made people think she was above everyone, but making her all the more desirable. She was single, beautiful woman, yet nobody would dare attacking her, since she seemed to almost glow with strength.

She knew her way too good. How often had she walked to that place whenever she was called to training? Now she was walking there again, but for another reason. There was no smile on her lips, yet she was very confident of what was to come.

Her mother was already there, smiling gently and confidently. Lupa didn't smile back. She hardly ever smiled. She had lost that long ago. Yet, she walked to her mother and hugged her. She had topped her in everything; her mother had been the most beautiful, now that was her. Her mother had made that strongest barriers, now hers were stronger. Her mother had been their packs biggest pride, now she had taken that place.

Slowly, gracefully, she walked into the building. The elders were sitting cross legged, like they always were. She sat down in front of them, also cross legged. Then she waited. She waited for them to start talking.

"Lupa Ignaia," the elder in the middle said.

"Yes", Lupa answered.

"Have you managed to discover your very specialties?"

"It is to create barriers to protect myself or those important to me in battle."

"You're wrong."

The confidence that Lupa radiated was gone in an instant. The calm confident look on her face went with it and was replaced by a confused frown.

"Tell me, Lupa; if you're strong point is to create barriers and shields, then how do you explain that you are closer to perfecting transformation magic than every other student in your year? How do you explain that you can stretch your second face farther than any other? How do you explain that you have perfected so many techniques before we even got to teach you?"

"I …"

She didn't go on. Her eyes went to the floor and her frown deepened. She wasn't able to explain it. But if her strength wasn't to create barriers, then what was it?

"You're strength, Lupa, lies within something that most mages will always have problems with; control. You have perfected the control of your mana. That's the reason you're able to use and perfect so many techniques so easily. It will always be your strength and it will give you more advantages than you could ever imagine. It does have a side effect, though. Since you do not posses and special kind of mana, like your friend Shane for example, you will never be able to perform any special techniques. Do you understand?"

It took her a while to comprehend this. Control. What kind of lame specialty was that? What good would it ever do her? Did that mean that there was nothing special about her? That the pack, the entire family, had been wrong about her being the new hope? And if she wasn't special anymore, then she was just one thing; a freak. White hair and blood red eyes made her different. Up until now, she had at least hoped that being a prodigy would give her some acceptance. But now, that was gone as well. Soon, everyone would know about her lame specialty and then the grownups would treat her as nothing but a freak as well.

"I understand", she whispered.

"Very good. Lupa Ignaia, today is your fifteenth birthday. Therefore, you are now officially no pup anymore and can be called a full-fledged wolf. Your training will end this very day, you are allowed to marry and bear children and you choose which pack you wish to live in."

"Thank you, sir."

"The family reunion is at the end of the year and you will be the biggest star in it. Narkhanta will make sure that you are ready."

"Yes, sir."

A dark blue wolf in his middle ages stood up and looked down at the female with the white hair. She too, stood up and looked back at the wolf that was assigned to make sure she was ready for the great family reunion.

The wolves family reunion took place at the end of every year. It was also the highlight for every wolf that had turned fifteen during that year and could therefore no longer be called a pup. They would officially be introduced to the family. Also, every magician had a specialty in magic. The stronger that specialty was, the more attention they were sure to get during the reunion.

"I will start preparing you tomorrow. We will meet here at noon", Narkhanta said.

Lupa didn't respond. She just bowed in respect, turned on her heels and stormed out of the room. She had been so sure that her specialty would be something big, something that gave her the right to call herself a prodigy. Control. That was simply pitiful.

"LUPA!"

The young female turned on her heels once again, only to see a pitch black wolf with white tips on his tail and bangs running towards her. She stopped in her tracks and waited until he had caught up with her. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Lupa had her hand on his head and rubbed it. He chuckled and closed one eyes to prevent his bangs from touching it.

"What's up, Shane?" she asked.

"Look what I can do?"

Lupa watched him for two minutes, but nothing happened. Shane just grinned at her, probably knowing perfectly well that she didn't get it. Not quite impressed, she raised one eyebrow.

"What am I supposed to see?"

"Take a look at your shadow."

Lupa did as she was told and looked at her shadow. She couldn't see it. It was nowhere to be found. That was weird. Where had her shadow gone?

"Where is it?" she asked her friend.

"Over there."

He pointed to the south. Lupa turned there and saw her shadow, standing upright by a tree. It was still two dimensional and still doing what Lupa was doing, but it was not connected with her, nor was it glued to the floor at all. A small smile appeared on Lupa's lips and she raised her eyebrow again.

"Impressive", she complimented, which made a huge grin appear on Shane face.

"Do you think my specialties are shadows? Wouldn't that be way awesome?" he beamed.

"Yeah, that would be cool."

"So what's you specialty? What can you do best?"

"I can control my mana."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah … sucks, doesn't it?"

"It sucks? Do you have any clue what I'd give to be able to control my mana? I'd give up these lame shadows anytime."

"Huh?"

That surely didn't make sense. Why would he want control over shadows? Besides, he was doing pretty well so what was he complaining about?

"You don't get it, huh?" Shane smiled. "I can tell from the look on your face."

Lupa shook her head perplexed.

"You couldn't understand. You've had this ability all your life. It just comes naturally to you. All of us normal wolves struggle everyday to be able to do the things we're able to do. It takes ages for us to learn what you can do in an instant simply because it takes ages for us to be able to control our mana. So if your strength is your control, than you're worth being called a prodigy."

"Does … does every mage have problems with their control?"

"I guess so."

That was surely some news. Never would she have imagined that something simple like control would be the reason she had always been ahead of everybody. It was so weird. It came so naturally and it was almost impossible for her to imagine that not everybody had it. She was completely unable to understand it.

"Hmm…" she mused. "Maybe control isn't such a bad thing after all."

/$/

When Lupa first heard about the famous water city, she thought that it was exaggeration. There was not a single river that would ever be wide enough to build an entire city –let alone the capital of a kingdom that rules over five planets- in its middle. Granted, she's never been in one of the twelve great kingdoms before and this would be the only one she would ever get to see. After all, travelling between the dimensions is as good as impossible unless you have a special talent for it. All wolves lived in this dimension. Most of them even lived on Eligna, one of the planets that the cats ruled over.

Everything was just as everybody said. Most people were happy with what they had. Hardly any people were poor and those who were still seemed quite happy. It was not a big surprise. After all, the royal family made sure that even the poorest children always had enough to eat, enough clothes and went to school. The ones who were wealthy only were it because they were the ones who looked after the poor. There were hardly any sick or handicapped people either. Her father had told her that, in order to keep the population at bay and give nature enough space to live, they keep the laws of nature that only the strong can survive. That even goes for the royal family.

When Shane and Lupa entered the city, it seemed like every person that lived there was either on the streets or in a boat. They seemed merry, yet anxious at the same time. What was going on? Had they appeared at some kind of holiday?

Lupa and Shane went farther into the city, were the mass got thicker and thicker. Yet, Lupa made herself noticed and the crowd let her pass. She did belong to the legendary family of wolves after all. Anybody in this zone who didn't have respect for her would sooner or later be called to account. The farther towards the middle they walked, the less happiness could be seen on the people's faces. She would get to the middle faster if she would use a speed boat, but the channels were packed with boats. That way, it took almost two hours to get to the very center of the city.

Why was Lupa still amazed that all those who had told her about the cat's castle had told the truth? It was one amazing building that could probably not be found anywhere else and it was in the middle of the water. By now, there was not a single happy face. Everybody had frowns now and their eyes spoke of worry. Whispers could be heard everywhere. There were too many of them for Lupa to understand one in itself. Therefore, she turned to the person standing next to her, an old porcupine who must have been at least a hundred years old.

"What's going on?" she asked him.

"Well, almost four hours ago, it was announced that our beloved queen was about to bear her second litter."

That would explain why every person in this city was on the streets … or … on the water. It would also explain why the people had seemed to be merry. Why was there no longer a trace of that happiness? What had gone wrong?

"As said, four hours have passed, but so far, nothing new has come to our ears. The people are starting to worry. Also, just a half an hour ago, one of the servants came running out of the castle, asking if there were any magicians or healers around. Mrs. Halva, the best healer in town, appeared immediately and went into the castle. But there's still no news from inside."

Lupa didn't have to think twice about her next move. She called Shane who appeared at her side immediately. She grabbed him around his waist, summed some magic to her feet and jumped only to land safe and sound at the front doors of the castle. She let Shane go and he ordered his own Shadow to open the doors from the inside. It obeyed and the two walked in.

Lupa didn't have to stretch her second face too far to find the queen. She was in her room, suffering terribly, although she couldn't quite identify why. As if she had lived in the castle all her life, she stormed through the hall, Shane on her heels, as always. In only two minutes, she was in front of the door to the queen's chamber. Shane didn't even have to be told what he was to do. He let his shadow open the door and Lupa stormed in, not slowing down once.

There were tons of doctors in the room, but they seemed at a loss for what to do. The healer was at one side of her huge bed, giving her everything to keep the queen alive and the wet nurse was in a state of shock. The King was on the other of the bed, holding the queens week hand and a young cat was standing behind him, closing his eyes tightly as if that would make all the terrible things go away.

And terrible things they were. The queen looked like she was already dead. Only her fast and flat pants showed that she was still alive. Her eyes were only half closed, so you could see that her eyes looked as if she were already unconscious. Lupa knew better. Cruelly, she was awake and suffering hell. Her stomach, where the kittens should have come out four hours ago, looked weird. It couldn't really be described, you just had to see it. The only word to describe the way it looked was 'unnatural'.

The blood that came out of the vagina looked unnatural as well. It should have been a very light red, mixed with the fluid that took care of the kittens. But it was a very dark shade of red, rather black. Almost … as if it had been burned. And if the queen really couldn't bear her child, then she was to die. After all, even the royal family respects the laws of nature and if a birth did not go well, then the mother was usually left to die. Only if something unusual was the case did the doctors do a caesarian section, but the doctors here didn't. They looked helpless, overwhelmed with the situation. Not even the healer and the wet-nurse were able to do anything. Something was very, very wrong.

All that went through Lupa's head in a split second. In that split second, she didn't even notice all the stares that had turned towards her when she entered the room. Slowly, a tiny bit of hope filled the animals' features. They recognized her. The legendary wolves' legendary prodigy had come to help them.

"What's going on?" She didn't even notice that she had asked the same questions only moments ago.

"We're not exactly sure", one of the doctors answered. "But maybe you should take a look at this."

When he stepped aside, Lupa stepped back involuntarily, her eyes widened and she felt as if all air had been knocked out of her. In front of her were three kittens, born from the queen. They were all dead, but there was no way they could have died a natural way. After all, they were all completely burned.

"What kind of joke is this?" Shane asked, his voice no more than a whisper.

The doctors looked at each other, as if silently communicating if they should even tell them. They didn't hesitate because they distrusted them that much was for sure. After all, the two were their last hope. No, they hesitated because they were unsure if they would be believed. Finally, the doctor who had spoken earlier swallowed hard and spoke again.

"One of the kittens … when the amniotic sack burst … it kind of … well … it caught fire."

Lupa didn't want to believe them at first. After all, babies that were still inside the mother's body didn't just catch fire like that. It was simply ridiculous. But when she reactivated her second face that had set out from the shock, she could see that he was right. There were still two kittens in there, one of them was already burnt to bits, the other one was still burning. That's why the queen's stomach looked so wrong; it was burnt from the inside and she would keep on burning. The doctors couldn't do a caesarian section because then the flames would get to oxygen and everybody in this room would be roasted. And because of the fire, the queen's body could no longer operate and throw the kitten out naturally. Of course, neither the healer nor the wet nurse would be able to do anything. How could they? Lupa was sure that none of them had ever been confronting with a baby burning in inside its mother. But she would be able to do something. She would be able to help.

"Shane, you can make your Shadows solid, right?" Lupa asked her friend.

"Uh … yeah …"

"Can they burn?"

"No … no they can't …"

"Good! Put a thin, solid Shadow around the queen's womb and cover the way out as well."

Shane swallowed hard. Never did he have to do such a difficult task, but he tried anyways. His second face wasn't as good as Lupa's, but he saw just enough to know where the shadows had to be. It was hard, since there was no light in there, but after what seemed like forever, he managed to do it. Now, the two remaining kittens were no longer surrounded by their natural protection, but by magical shadows. Immediately, the queen sighed. No longer did she have to feel the heat of the flames inside her and even though most of her stomach was burnt from the inside, that alone was a blessing.

It was Lupa's turn next. She put her hands on the queens damaged stomach. Immediately, the queen let out a week scream of pain. But her voice was almost gone. She had been screaming too much during the last hours. First, Lupa created a barrier at the queen's vagina. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated. Her real sight would only be a hindrance for the task that awaited her. Behind the burning kitten, she created a second barrier and moved it to push it outside. The queen groaned and whined terribly weak, but it had to come out or it would die. When it hit the first barrier, she had it expand and close when it was out. Lupa took her hands of the queen's stomach and took the barrier. It was made extra to keep of the heat.

Truly, the baby was completely covered in flames. Yet, it was crying like a normal healthy baby and Lupa knew that she needed to put a tiny hole into the barrier or it would suffocate. The weirdest thing was, that it didn't have a single scratch. Even though it was lit up in flames, it had not a single burn. Could it be?

A stir pulled Lupa out of her thoughts. The queen wanted her baby in her hands. Who could blame her? It was her baby after all. She handed it to her, making sure to keep the barrier up and went to get out the last, already dead kitten.

"It's gifted, you know?" Shane said as he went to the queen. "If I'm not mistaken, then this baby has been kissed by Iblis."

A small smile, exhausted smile found its way on the queens lips, but it was replaced by a grimace when the last kitten made its way out. Her tears were flowing now, so glad was she that it was over and that there was still one kitten left. And such a special one at that. But she was at the end. The four hours in which the kitten had burned inside her had left damage beyond repair. She didn't have much time left.

With the warmth of the mother by her side, the kitten slowly calmed down and so did the fire. In seconds, she was asleep and the fire was out. Lupa released the barrier and took one last look at the kitten; it was female and had light purple fur. Now that the flames were gone, she looked like a normal baby. Then, Lupa and Shane left the room, together with the doctors, the wet nurse and the healer. The queen's last moments were reserved for her family.

Before anybody could thank her, Lupa was already gone. She wanted to forget these scenes as good as possible. And yet, the face of the burning baby never left her mind.

)§)

"Ladies and gentlemen; brothers and sisters!"

Even thought there were at least 200 wolves presents, the speaker didn't need a microphone. The hall was quiet immediately when he started speaking. He was tall, had a long scar on his cheek and was rather muscular. He was famous amongst all wolves, no matter where they lived. He was the leader of the entire magician family of wolves.

"Yet again a year has passed. Yet again, we have come together. I welcome back all those who have been here before and I welcome all those who are new. I congratulate all parents who have born pups and I suffer with all those who have lost loved ones. We, as the oldest and most powerful of every family of mages also have the most traditions, build up over millenias. The reason we have come together today is one of them. Every year, pups stop being pups, grow up and become full-fledged mages, full-fledged wolves. Each one of us has passed that stage and those who haven't will do it. This day; this very day is meant for those who have turned fifteen during the past year. This day is for those who are now officially no pups anymore. Please, give a big applause for the newest magicians that are to be welcomed in our family!"

The pack obeyed and applauded with enthusiasm – a lot of enthusiasm. The last time they applauded so loud was four years ago for the same reason as today; a prodigy was about to be announced and nobody could wait for him or her to get introduced into the family. Shane looked around in awe. He knew the reason they applauded like this and to him, it was absolutely amazing that one person could bring this much excitement into such a huge audience.

Then, the wolves were welcomed. Eight young wolves that had turned fifteen this year were introduced, more than the last fifteen years. They gained quite a bit of applause, but they all knew that the real applause was saved for the highlight of the evening and they would all stand in her shadow.

"Calm down, please, calm down. After all, now we introduce the one person you've all been waiting for. She's known as one of the biggest prodigies in our family and she hasn't even been introduced yet. She has a talent that we would all kill to have. It would save us many, many years of our lives. Where we struggle, she succeeds. She has only turned fifteen this year and yet, she is almost as good as those who have lived for 30 years. Another five years, and she will have surpassed us all. Please, give a mighty applause for the wolves biggest hope; LUPA!"

A young woman walked onto the stage, her shining white hair pinned up behind a beautiful golden tiara. She was wearing a skin tight dress with a lot of chains and even more jewels on it. A scarf made out of golden silk was wrapped around her arms. When she stepped in, the biggest applause lived up. Shane's eyes went wide. Never had he seen his beautiful best friend this beautiful. She truly was the star of this party. She bowed.

Just like the eight other young adults, Lupa gave a short presentation of her power through a game with light. She let different colored twirls fly through the audience before they collided above her head and created a beautiful firework. Again, the crowd clasped and cheered and whistled. Again, Lupa bowed. Then, all nine wolves walked of the stage.

No words needed to be said, everybody knew what was next. The nine young wolves walked into the middle of the room, where everybody built up a huge circle around them. The five male wolves amongst the nine moved first. Once they had picked out a girl, they went to her and asked her to dance. One refused. Then they walked back to the middle of the circle with their dance partner at their side. The girls were next, but they weren't allowed to choose. A male from the crowd would have to come to them and ask them if they were allowed to dance with them.

All young females were beautiful and so, there were males asking them all over. In not even a minute's time, each one of the nine wolves had a dance partner … except for Lupa. She looked into the crowd, waiting for someone to come up and ask her. Nobody dared. Some thought they weren't worthy, others didn't want to come too close to the girl with the white hair and the red eyes.

Shane saw this and felt pity. He could go to her and ask her to dance, but what would it look like if he, an eleven year old boy, would ask the star of the ball to dance? It would be pitiful. But just as he decided to move, another male passed him, made his way through the crowd and walked to Lupa. He was quite tall with long hair and had handsome features. He would have been every female's dream if only his fur and his eyes had another color. He was completely white and his eyes were as red as Lupa's. He was an albino. He had also been the one person that had received just as much applause four years ago as Lupa had today.

He stepped out of the crowd confidently and walked straight towards Lupa. Once in front of her, he took her hand, bowed deeply and kissed it. For the very first time since Shane could remember, Lupa blushed. It was a rather unique way to ask someone to dance, but that was not the reason everybody in the hall started whispering with each other. It was the fact that the two biggest prodigies in the family were about to dance with each other; Lupa and Ira.

Lupa accepted. With a single, swift move, the white wolf pulled Lupa towards him and rested his hand on her waist while the other hand held hers firmly. Everybody had a dance partner now, so the music started. With the music, the wolves started dancing. They walked and twirled through the room, always making sure to stay in the circle.

Other wolves started looking for partners to dance and circles around the nine wolves and their partners started to form. Soon, every dancing wolf was in one of the six circles while the others were watching from their seats. Even Shane had found a young female to dance with. But Lupa's eyes were set firmly on Ira. Four years ago, when he had turned fifteen, she had been in the crowd and looking at him with stars in her eyes. She had wanted to have applause like he had gotten one. She had wanted to be as amazing as he had been. Now, that dream had come true. And if that wasn't enough, the person she had admired so much was the one who had asked her to dance.

"So you are the famous Rinn's daughter? The even more famous prodigy Lupa?" Ira asked.

"That's what they call me." Lupa answered.

"You can really be proud of yourself. Every mage in the thirteen dimensions would kill to have your power."

"If I remember correct, you were called a prodigy because of the immense amount of mana you posses. They say that you have more of it than any other wolf."

Ira let out a dark chuckle. "What good is having a lot of mana if you can't control it?"

"It'd be perfect if you and I were one person."

"Now that'd be a funny situation. I bet we'd be fighting inside one body for control while the ones who see us from the outside would think we'd have gone crazy."

For the first time in three years, Lupa giggled. She looked to the ground, not daring to meet the wolf's eyes. She blushed even more and could do no more but to keep on dancing. Was he just playing with her or was he actually being serious? And why on earth did the famous Ira decide to ask her to dance? As far as she remembered, he had never asked one of the coming-of-age wolves to dance. He had been asked quite a few times, though. Up until now, he had always refused.

The two chatted throughout the entire dance and Lupa was happier than she had been in ages. She smiled and blushed and laughed and all the while twirled through the hall with Ira leading her. It was as if she had become an entirely different person and that made sure to attract quite a few glances from the males around her.

However, all good things came to an end. The music stopped and so did the dancers. Everybody clapped. Now that the opening dance was finished, some of the nine fifteen year olds left the dance floor, a few others came in and some stayed were they were. A male that was just a bit smaller than Ira tipped his shoulder. He turned around.

"Excuse me, may I have a dance with the lady?" he asked.

Ira's gentle smile was gone all of a sudden and he glared at the intruding male with a stare that was colder than ice. Involuntarily, the other male took a few steps back in fright. Lupa saw it as well, but wasn't scared in the slightest. She was actually impressed that this gentle and charming man could have such a scary and cold side as well. The stare lasted only a split second, then it was gone and Ira was smiling again.

"That is up to the lady", he answered.

He turned back to Lupa, bowed deeply and kissed her hand again before he walked away. The female stared after him until he disappeared in the crowd. The other male caught her attention again when he bowed to her. She took a curtsey in respond and the two started dancing. All kinds of different dances were danced that evening and Lupa danced with many different wolves. But not once did she stop looking for the albino. Almost an hour later, Lupa walked to the table where her parents were sitting. Shane was there as well.

"You really are the star of this ball", her mother smiled. "The boys have been fighting over the right to dance with you."

"The fact that Ira was the one who asked you first made quite the impression as well", he father added.

"Yeah …"Lupa said distracted.

She was still looking through the hall, trying to find a bit of white fur somewhere in there. The mother giggled, the father frowned and Shane's look was unreadable. He had seen the way his friend had acted when she had danced with the white wolf. For some reason, he didn't like the fact that he was able to make her smile like that. On the other hand, he was glad that Lupa had finally laughed again. He was torn.

For the next three dances, Lupa relaxed at the table. She drank a cocktail and refused every dancing request. Then, the meal started and Shane had to go back to his own family. A delicious five course dinner was served and everybody enjoyed it. But Lupa never stopped looking for Ira. Where was he? What table was he sitting at?

The music started again and all of a sudden, he was standing in front of her. Where had he come from? How had he managed to sneak past her guard? Without saying a word, he took her hand and helped her off her chair, leading her back into the dancing crowd. Her parents followed her with their eyes.

"That's quite a catch she's made there, don't you think?" Rinn grinned.

"I'd rather she'd take someone who's not an albino!"

Again, Ira and Lupa chatted happily during the dance. Only this time, Ira wasn't all gentlemen and teased his dance partner a little bit. Surprisingly, she let herself get teased instead of blocking it off the way all the bullying had taught her.

"You're mother is famous for her beauty, you know", he said.

"Yes, I know that. Everybody does."

"The rumors were right with everything they said. She's a feast for the eye."

Lupa didn't answer. A tiny pout was visible on her face and she looked to the ground. Had he asked her to dance only to compliment on her mother?

"But you even top her beauty. You'll be every male's target once you've grown up."

That got Lupa ticked.

"Today is my coming-of-age-ceremony. I am no longer a pup", she hissed.

"But you're not quite an adult yet, either. In my eyes, you're still a child."

They bickered over that topic for the next three dances. Lupa had to seriously control herself so that she wouldn't start getting loud. And seeing the smug smirk of the guy teasing her all the time made it even worse. Never would she have thought that the argument would end as abruptly as it did.

"Okay, what do I have to do to show you that I'm a full wolf?" she asked annoyed.

Ira answered in a very shocking way. Instead of teasing her even more, he stopped dancing, leaned down to the female and sealed lips with her in a kiss. It was a very innocent kiss, without open mouths or any big tongue action. But it was Lupa's first. Her brain stopped working. Unable to react, she just stood there with wide eyes and before she even grasped what had happened, it was over. She just continued to stare at the albino in front of her.

"That was the first step", he said seriously and stared back.

The music stopped and the people clapped. But Lupa and Ira were frozen. When the next song started, Ira turned on his heels and left the paralyzed female. Once again, he disappeared in the crowd. Lupa kept looking for him in vain. He didn't show himself to her again.

**Ladies and Gentlemen, this peace will not last long. Hey what do you expect? Lupa's the bad guy in my Dimensional Travels, so something must have happened that made her bad. Right? Anyways, can you guess who the little kitten is that was born in this chapter? In case you're dense enough not to get it, it's Blaze. Tragic, isn't it? She killed her mother and silblings when she was born and now she has to fight against the woman that had saved her life. And itty little Shane is starting to get jealous of Ira while Lupa is starting to fall in love. Drama, baby, drama.**

**Review please. It would make me very happy ^^**


	3. The wolf called Lupa

**Third chapter and still no review? Oh well, guess there's nothing I can do about it.**

**Chapter three: the wolf called Lupa**

"You just keep impressing me, honey." Rinn praised her daughter.

"I know", Lupa said coldly and flapped back her hair.

With a gaze as cold as ice, Lupa stepped away from her family and took a look at the place she had just teleported to. The house wasn't as big as the one she had grown up in, but that wasn't necessary either. After all, Lupa's pack was one of the biggest in the entire family. Ira's on the other hand, was one of the smallest. What had impressed Rinn was the fact that her fifteen year old daughter had managed to teleport herself, her mother, her father and even Shane safely across the universe. Even most mages her age had problems with that.

Their arrival didn't go unnoticed. In fact, they had already been awaited. And so, two pups that were about ten years old, together with the four elders stepped out and greeted their visitors. Upon seeing the seven wolves welcoming them, Lupa felt slightly disappointed, although that was in no way visible. She had secretly hoped that Ira would be amongst them. But since he wasn't, she would just have to go and search for him. Or maybe he was already awaiting her somewhere …

They were guided in. The pups showed them the entire property. Their rooms were last. Shane and Lupa each received an own room while Lupa's parents shared one. They were taken care of quite well. The pups asked them if there was anything they would want, but Lupa wasn't interested. The only thing she did want was to go and find Ira. After all, the last time they had seen each other had ended in a rather confusing way.

So Lupa went out and looked through the entire ground. She only saw one of the other wolves every now and then, looking at her disgusted and yet amazed. The disgusted look was probably because of her long white hair and her red eyes and the amazed look because she was called a prodigy. Lupa ignored those looks. She knew them too well to be offended by them.

But there was something else she wasn't used to; an attack from behind, a magical arrow cutting through her guard. Lupa didn't move. She didn't have to. In a split second, she had a strong shield up and the arrow had no chance of reaching her. In the same moment, she expanded her second face, searching for the person who had dared attacking her. In no time, she was found. Not in the slightest impressed or even surprised, Lupa turned around and looked at the attacker.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she barked.

The attacker was standing at the top of the building and jumped down so that she stood across from Lupa, although with a bit of a distance. Unlike Lupa, who had a stare as cold as ice, she had a rather self-confident smirk plastered across her face. The two females stared on each other for a while, instantly not liking each other. The strange female had striking yellow eyes and dark blue fur, wearing a red jacket. She must have been around Lupa's age, although she didn't remember her being one of the nine in the coming of age ceremony.

"You haven't answered my questions yet", Lupa noted.

"Fine, Ms Sunshine; as you wish. I'm Ven and I want you to keep your filthy hands off Ira! Happy now?" the other female answered.

"No!"

"Wow, you're a cranky one, aren't you? I totally don't get what Ira wants with you."

"It's not like it's any of your business."

With that, Lupa turned around and tried to leave. Ven wouldn't let her. She sent another arrow towards the white haired female only to have it destroyed when it met her barrier again. She sent another one and another one and another one, but every single one bounced off on Lupa's indestructible shield. Ven gritted her teeth and created about fifty arrows at once. She sent them flying towards Lupa, but none of them managed to hit their target.

"I'm his sister, so it _is_ my business", she huffed out of breath.

"You're pretty weak seeing that you're the sister of a prodigy." Lupa said unimpressed.

That ticked the blue wolf off and she charged at the woman in front of her. Lupa turned back to Ven, but didn't bother moving. Instead, a dark blue barrier appeared in front of her and her opponent crashed right into it. Before she even hit the ground, Lupa charged and kicked into Ven's stomach so hard that she flew all the way back and crashed into the building.

"Pathetic", Lupa said coldly. "I feel almost sorry for Ira."

Too fast for Lupa to react, Ven was back on her feet and in front Lupa, sending her flying with a strong sucker punch. Although she was flying backwards, she caught herself in mid-flight and landed safely on her feet. But Ven was one step ahead and was already charging again. Just in time, Lupa managed to block her next punch. She teleported herself behind Ven and kicked her into the ground. Then she jumped on top of her pinned her to the ground. Lupa smirked.

"He must be embarrassed for having such a weak sister."

With a frustrated yell, Ven created another thirty arrows and shot them towards Lupa. The grey female jumped high into the air in order to dodge them and have the arrows pierce their creator instead. A cloud of dust appeared when they hit and Lupa grinned satisfied. But when a burst of energy emerged from the cloud, her grin faded and she got thrown backwards.

She landed softly in a pair of strong arms. The cloud of dust disappeared and a huffing Ven appeared, crouching down on all fours. Her eyes grew wide and she gasped when she saw the person that had caught Lupa. In front of her was Ira, holding the female prodigy safely in his arms.

"I … Ira …"

"I thought our mother has raised you better than that, Ven. It's very rude to attack guests", he said.

Ven didn't answer. She just looked to the ground with a huge frown on her face. She wanted to make sure that this woman would never reach her brother and now he was holding her bridal style as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She wanted to say something so that he would think the same way she did, but there was no way she could do that. She had no right to scold her older brother, neither did she want to. So she just closed her eyes and released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"I'm sorry", she sighed.

"Atta girl."

With that, Ira turned around and walked away. Lupa looked at Ven one more time and smirked victoriously, which made Ven so angry that she started chewing on her own tail. She would get that woman. She would get her, no matter what.

($(

He was still carrying her. Not that she minded it, but she wasn't hurt or anything, so why didn't he let her walk on her own? She would never ask him to of course. Throughout the entire way, she didn't speak a single word. She just looked at her hands with a small blush on her cheeks, glancing up at the albino carrying her every now and then. Her heartbeat was unusually fast. Wasn't that unhealthy?

"Here we are", Ira said, pulling the female out of her thoughts.

She looked around and saw a beautiful field, full of all kinds of flowers. With the sun shining brightly, it seemed like a place out of a fairy tale. Lupa hated it. But since Ira finally set her down here, he seemed to like it, therefore it couldn't be so bad.

"You're an interesting person, you know that?" He asked her and sat down next to her.

Lupa shook her head.

"You seem so cold all the time. Untouchable even and you seem to frighten everyone away with that attitude of yours. You seem as if you would throne above all others. And to be honest, I believe you really could."

There was a long silence after this. Ira gave her time to let those words sink in and she did exactly that. A gust of wind played with their fur and their long hair.

"You could easily have won back there", Ira broke the silence.

"I know. I just …"

"… underestimated her? Yeah, I've seen that. It's one of the biggest mistakes you can do when fighting against someone."

Lupa looked away and pouted. She didn't like being criticized. She wasn't used to it. But he was correct so there was nothing she could say, although she didn't really want to. Maybe she should fight against that devilish sister of his again. Next time, she would definitely win.

"Somehow, you're different whenever we meet", Ira went on. "You don't seem … I don't know … dangerous anymore."

The female blushed and looked at her feet, suddenly very interested in the patterns of her dark grey fur. She understood Ira's unasked question; Why was that? Why was it that she was so different around him? Why was it that it was so hard to breathe and talk when he was close? Why was it that she was completely unable to be herself? Or maybe she was herself … A chuckle pulled her out of her thoughts.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Ira asked.

"No, I don't", Lupa answered.

"Will you tell me why? Or is there no reason?"

"I'm not sure … I guess I just don't talk because I never had anybody to talk to. I got used to it until the point where being quiet became part of my character."

Ira didn't have to say that he understood that. He knew that she already knew that. He knew the reason she never had anybody to talk and she knew that it must have been even worse for him. After all, the only spot of black on his entire body was his nose. He had experienced the same as she had, only more extreme. They both knew what it meant to suffer. They have experienced what it's like to be shut out, teased and bullied just because they were different. They shared the pain of loneliness.

"What is your biggest wish?" Ira asked and lied down in the field.

Another gust of wind came up and played with the petals of the flowers in the field. It was a warm wind, but something about the way Ira asked his question made Lupa's fur stand upright.

"I've never thought about it", she admitted. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I know what my biggest wish is. But it's something that I can never happen."

Lupa's ears perked up. They were two of the most powerful mages in all thirteen dimensions, belonging to the most powerful family of mages in all thirteen dimensions. What wish could he possibly have that couldn't be fulfilled?

"What do you wish for?"

"A world without pain. A world in which everybody would be tolerated the way they are and for what they are. In a world like that, nobody would ever have to suffer the way we did. That's what I wish."

He let out a low and bitter chuckle and looked at his hand.

"It's terrible, you know. Everybody says I have more mana, more power than everybody else. They say that I'm a prodigy and that I'll do magnificent things someday. I have all this power and yet …"

He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to. Lupa understood. An own wish started forming as she watched him looking at the clouds, his eyes filled with pain and bitterness. She wished, more than anything else that she had ever wished before, that she could help him make his wish come true. She wanted him to see the world he was dreaming of with his own eyes.

"You know", Lupa started, "when I was small, my mother always said that everything can come true if you wish for it strong enough."

Ira raised an eyebrow.

"You don't actually believe in talk like that, do you?"

"I used to. When I was a child, I wished for a friend more than anything else. And at the age of four, Shane was born."

"The kid with the white tip on his tail and bangs?"

"He was my wish come true. There are many kinds of magic out there, Ira. Maybe even one that can create the world you're dreaming of."

"Yeah … maybe …" Ira said more to himself than to Lupa.

A small smile found its way on his lips, as if her words really had given him hope. If only she could tell what he was thinking. It was so easy with most other people, why was it so hard when it was him? He was impossible to read. When she thought about it, she hadn't realized when he had approached her fight either. How had he done that? Her second face was always active. It sensed everything, why hadn't it sensed him? What was it with that guy?

He turned his head towards her, looked directly into her eyes with that small, gentle smile on his face. She blushed and looked away. For some reason, that only made his smile grow wider. He raised his hand and started playing with her shiny, white hair. It was soft and smooth. There was nothing bad about it just because it was white.

He pulled on so suddenly and so hard that Lupa yelped and fell on top of him. The only thing he did was to sniff on her hair, eyes closed. He seemed incredibly relaxed, as if he didn't mind at all that her head was resting on his chest. But she could hear the beat of his heart. It wasn't as fast as her own, but faster than a heartbeat usually was. It betrayed his calm façade and helped her to relax.

She relaxed so much that she didn't even notice it when he stopped playing with her hair. Therefore, she flinched a tiny bit when his hand was suddenly under her chin, turning it so that she was looking at him. His smile was gone, so was the calmness that he had emitted. His face was dead serious and it made her heart beat go up again. With her hand on his chest, she could feel his beat go up as well.

"Let me kiss you again", he said.

She obeyed, although her body was fighting against her will. For the very first time, she felt what it was like to have adrenaline flow through her body and she hated it. She wanted him to kiss her again, but at the same time, she was scared, scared of a simple little kiss. How pathetic.

Their lips sealed and all fright fell off her. She closed her eyes and let him take lead. After all, he had a better idea of what he was doing. His hand moved from her chin to her cheek and down to her neck while his lips forced her own open. The very first thing she thought when their tongues touched was that there was way too much spit. She pulled back and sat up again. A frown was on Ira's face and she realized that she was pulling a grimace.

"Wet", she said.

Ira chuckled and pulled her back down to kiss her again.

($(

Lupa gasped when Ira wrapped his arms around her waist. She hadn't seen him coming. She never did. Somehow, he always managed to get past her always alert second face. And she hated it when he surprised her like that. Yet, she could never stay angry for too long, especially when he was rubbing his head against her hair and was sniffing on it as if it were a flower.

Thanks to her, Ira had managed to learn how to teleport through very long distances. It took almost an entire year until he had managed to jump from one side of the universe to another. The biggest problem had been to teach him to land precisely in her town, as close as possible to her house. Thanks to his huge amount of mana, they had been able to practice for tons of hours. And when he finally managed it, he came to her as often as he could, just like she came to visit him as often as she could manage.

The wolves in Ira's home had learned just how strong Lupa was and the ones in Lupa's home didn't dare coming close to him when he looked at them with a look that would make them fall dead right on the spot if looks could kill. Therefore, none of the two had to fear any kinds of attacks if they visited each other.

Shane was watching on the sidelines. He saw how Lupa was slowly becoming happier and happier. She was smiling much more often now, almost always. Her cold, icy glare turned into a dreamy one and Shane knew just too well what –or rather who- she was dreaming about. Also, she was often humming. Sometimes, her tunes were slow and romantic, sometimes they were fast and joyous, but they were never depressing or sad. Shane was glad that his friend was finally able to be happy. He just wished that he had been the one to make her this way. His coming-of-age-ceremony was in less than a year and he planned on asking Lupa for the first dance. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to put the same smile on her face.

Lupa didn't watch him as intensively as she had before she had met Ira, but she talked more with him. Most of the times she talked about Ira, but also about Shane's progress in magic and what his specialty might be. Unlike her, his specialty was obvious; he could manipulate shadows and make him move to his will. He could even create completely new creatures out of these shadows. Still, he wished she's know about his progress without him having to tell her.

The times when he was ignored most was when Ira was here, like he was at the moment. Then, he and Lupa would get all lovey-dovey and Shane was torn between the urge to puke and to attack him. He could do neither, not when his beloved Lupa was so happy around him. He watched as Lupa struggled to free herself from his grasp and throw one insult after another at her boyfriend. He turned her around and placed a kiss on her cheek before he kissed her mouth for what seemed like an eternity.

"Ira", Lupa whispered into his ear. "Do you still have the same wish?"

Ira looked at the female with big eyes and nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"What if there was a way to make it come true?"

Ira didn't have to say anything. He didn't even have to move. The seriousness of his face and the look in his eyes was enough to tell Lupa that he was all ears.

"They say that you have more mana in you than any other wolf. And they say that I have more control than anybody else. We are both powerful."

"What are you getting at?"

"Don't you think that you and I … that we could have the power to change the dimensions? If we team up, we could make sure that nobody would have to suffer anymore. We could create a utopia, you and I. All the suffering, all the pain … it would end with the two of us."

"You sound like one of those freaks who want to take over the world."

"What if I am?"

Ira was speechless at that. He opened his mouth a few times and closed it again. His brain was going haywire in the attempt to find something to say. Anything would do. But nothing came. He could only stare at the female stupidly and struggle to stay in balance.

"Ira, please think about it. How many creatures out there have a past like you and I have and how many have one that's even worse? We know what it's like to suffer, you even more than I do. I got Shane at the age of four but you; you've been lonely all your life. Being lonely … it's a terrible thing. It's cold and frightening, more than anything else. I don't ever want to be lonely again Ira and neither do you. But there are many, so many people who still are. We may not come in time to help them, but if we really do take over the dimensions then we can make sure that something like this won't have to happen again. Ever!"

"You make it sound like a good thing."

"It IS a good thing!"

"It's not! Do you really think anybody will let us take over their planet, their kingdom? Even if we can take over smaller planets, we have no chance against the twelve kingdoms."

"Who says that they'll be against us? Our intentions aren't bad after all. Your intentions aren't bad. What's wrong with trying to help? How many people do you think would come with us? How many people wish for the same thing you do? All they need is someone to help them make that dream come true."

Ira was silent. He had no objection to that. This entire situation, that entire idea … it was so incredibly ridiculous. Nobody would ever be able to take over one dimension, let alone all thirteen of them. They couldn't. Hardly anybody ever travels between the dimensions, not even any of their kind. They would have to ask an Oracle for help but what Oracle would help them with such a stupid plan? And yet … what if it really could make a difference?

"The people who suffered need a chance to make that dream come true …" Ira thought out loud.

"If you were they're guide, then you could give them that chance", Lupa answered.

Still, Ira wasn't convinced.

Of course, Lupa wouldn't accept that. For the next half a year, she did the planning, the demonstrations of what they were capable, trained Shane to create warriors made out of shadows and showed that all to Ira. She would refuse to back down. Of course he didn't like the idea of the war that would without doubt erupt would they start this entire project, but every time Lupa showed him that they're chances weren't so bad, he wavered a tiny bit more. His biggest wish was a world without suffering and Lupa showed him clearly that he could create such a world. A utopia. Was such a world really worth all the lives that would be given for that cause?

At some point, Ira decided to try it out. He went to Lupa's planet to find out how far people would go in order to create such a world. The results were amazing. Most of the people would give up their lives immediately if only that meant that they're loved ones could live in a perfect world. They would also follow Ira, although not even half as far. In order for that to happen, he would need to win the people's trust first. And that was easily done. After all, he knew how they felt. He would do whatever he had to if only that meant that his beloved Lupa could live in a world without suffering. Finally, he decided to follow Lupa's suggestions and believe what she said; that they together had the power to create a new world. Lupa was overjoyed.

The preparations took only two years, mainly thanks to Lupa. She was starting to bloom in this time. While Ira took the lead, Lupa's main task was to learn as much as possible about magic. Soon, she found out about Dimensional Items and also about the weak spots in the walls that part the dimensions. She decided to use a weak spot to get to the kingdom of lions, where she could get the dagger. Of all the twelve big kingdoms, the lions were the weakest, so she had the biggest chances there.

Shane, who had also learned to use the shadows to stay invisible and to kill without a trace, usually did the dirty work, consisting out of killing the people standing in Ira's way. Yet, the only one he ever took orders from was Lupa. He hardly ever failed but if he did, then she would make sure to finish the job. Ira himself was busy getting as many people as possible on their side. It wasn't hard. There were hardly any creatures in this Zone that hadn't suffered yet and Ira had a talent for capturing the crowd's hearts and to make them see things the way he did. Besides, the more people were on his side, the less would have to die.

The biggest threads however, where twelve mighty kingdoms, the twelve mighty knighthoods and the twelve mighty magician families, although some of the wolves were on their side. They were the ones they would have to fight against. After those two years of preparations, the war was ready to begin.

"Have I ever told you how lucky I am to have met you?" Ira asked while Lupa handled his fur and hair.

"More times than I can count. And all those times I told you that I am the lucky one."

Ira let out a low chuckle, pulled his girlfriend close and kissed her deeply. As always, Lupa could have sworn that she was melting right on that spot. Whatever she was doing, it had to be the right thing if fate decided to give her such a wonderful partner.

He released her and looked at her one last time before he turned around and walked to the balcony of the palest they were in. Of course, Lupa was right next to him and behind them, hardly visible was Shane. The female did a small act of magic that would make sure that Ira could be heard and seen by their followers in all dimensions. Then, they were at the edge of the balcony, looking down at the hundreds of thousand warriors, ready to give up everything they had for the one dream that connected them all.

"You were right, Lupa", Ira whispered. "You were always right."

Then he turned to the crowd and raised his arm. The speech wasn't very long, but therefore all the more inspiring. In no time at all, he had their attention and a few seconds later, their enthusiasm. And when the speech ended, he had their applause. Lupa watched his love as he looked at the crowd, confident that the war that was about to come could be won. An own, dark smirk found its way to her face and she whispered something that went unheard throughout all the thundering applause.

"Let the games begin."

**And thus, Lupa and Ira become bad guys. But the drama has yet to reach its highest peak. Wanna guess? You'd better, cuz I'm not telling anything.**


	4. The killer called Lupa

**One more chapter to go. I already have it written, so I'm most probably going to upload it next week.**

**Chapter four: The killer called Lupa**

Lupa loved Ira. She loved him more than she ever had imagined loving someone. And the more time they spent together, the more she felt like she belonged to him, like he belonged to her. With the both of them floating in 7th heaven, it didn't matter if they were the leaders of a huge war. They were the perfect team. Ira was the one with the inspiration, the one who could bring anyone to follow them blindly. Lupa was the one who'd work in the background and make sure that Ira had easy going. She was the one to really be afraid of.

Even with the most powerful foes, they never gave up and they had quite the success. Even the dragons were biting out their teeth in trying to stop them. Nothing lasts forever. Only one could be the winner. Sooner or later, this would come true for the two sides. They both knew that, yet they both thought that it would come true for the other side.

Another day. Another battle. One of the times when Lupa, Ira and Shane were involved directly. Of course, Shane killed silently and unseen from the Shadows. Lupa and Ira on the other hand were in the middle of the battle, assisting those who'd follow them to death. But Ira had other plans in hand. Somewhere in the middle of the battle, while others were fighting for their lives and losing them, he took Lupa's hand, causing her to stop in her tracks and look at her love.

"Ira?"

He didn't speak. He didn't even smile. He just dug his claws into her sides and kissed her like he only did when she was driving him crazy. What had gotten him to him?

"Marry me", he said out of the blue.

Lupa didn't respond. It's not like she didn't want to, she just seemed to have lost control over her body at that moment. It came so suddenly and she was so unprepared that she felt like she had gotten sucker punched. All her defenses fell that very moment

"Huh?" she finally squeaked.

Ira did the most classical thing you could do when asking somebody to marry them. He went down on one knee and made a ring appear on his palm. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry Lupa had ever seen. A pure diamond was put on it and ornamentations were everywhere. Lupa saw it and was yet unable to recognize it. Eyes wide, she stared at the ring in Ira's hands and didn't say a thing until he spoke again.

"Lupa Ignaia, will you marry me?"

She nodded, hardly visible. A tiny little movement that only Ira could see.

"Yes", she whispered. Then she understood what just happened and she started screaming. "Yes, yes, yes, YES!"

She took the male's head into her hands and kissed him one more time. And so they stood, as if all time had stopped. Only these two were there, knowing that their life would start here.

All of a sudden, Ira pulled back and opened his eyes. He had known that Ira would let all guards fall, so he had built up his own. But something had passed it. Something was coming. And that something was a knife, flying towards Lupa's back. His eyes went wide and he pulled Lupa behind him before she even understood what was going on.

There was no blood when the knife hit his chest, just where his heart was. But something was wrong anyways. It seemed as if he couldn't move, even if he tried to. His pupils were dangerously small and not a tone came out of his mouth even though it was wide open. Time seemed to flow by in a flash and extremely slow at once. He fell to the floor and Lupa started screaming.

"SHANE", she screeched. "SHANE, WHERE ARE YOU? SHAAANEEE!"

He appeared next to her out of the shadows. Not a word needed to be said. He wrapped his arm around Lupa's shoulders and took the injured Ira's hand. Then, he summoned his shadows and had them all disappear in them. Nobody noticed the trio's absence and so, the battle continued.

(§(

She had no clue where they were, but it didn't really matter. She was too occupied with watching how her best healers were trying their best to treat Ira. All this went beyond anything she could comprehend. The tears were already in her eyes, but none were falling. Her heart seemed to have stopped and she didn't even realize that she was hardly breathing. Her claws were digging into the ground and her jaw was shaking.

Finally, the healers stepped away from the albino. One of them, a young, brown, female wolf, came to Lupa and kneeled down to her. She didn't look like there was any good knew and yet Lupa couldn't help but to keep all her hopes up. She didn't even have to ask the question, her eyes were saying enough.

"The dagger was magically altered", the young female said. "It is a weapon designed especially to kill you, able to break through every barrier, destroying your body from the inside, impossible to heal. Every chance of rescue left him the moment it hit."

Lupa shook her head in disbelief and crawled to the injured wolf. He was breathing heavily. The dagger was pulled out of his body and even though the blood was cleaned off, the injury still looked terrible. But the most terrible thing was how weak he looked. Still, he smiled at Lupa and held out his hand for her to take it. She did.

"Ira …" she choked.

"Hey there, beautiful", he whispered playfully.

"Ira, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad that you're all right."

He raised his other hand and wiped away the tears that now started falling from Lupa's eyes. She leaned into the touch and let her tears fall freely.

"Don't cry. I want you to smile for me, okay?"

"How can you expect me to smile? You're going to die, Ira! I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you. I don't know what to do without you. I …"

"I want you to smile. Please, smile for me!"

Lupa swallowed hard, wiped away her tears and forced a small smile. It wasn't convincing at all, but enough for Ira. He took a strand Of Lupa's long, white hair and sniffed on it as he did so often.

"Why did you have to take that dagger for me?"

"Because I love you. More than my own life."

"But not enough to live for me?"

Ira chuckled darkly. "I'm not that strong."

"Not that strong? You were about to change the world. There are billions of people out there and they all need you to lead them. There's not a person as strong as you in all thirteen dimensions."

"No, Lupa. _You're_ the one that's strong. I would have never gotten anywhere if it weren't for you. _You_ were the one that convinced me. _You_ were the one who made me get so close to fulfilling my dream. If there's any person in the world that's strong, then it's you."

Lupa shook her head frantically and whispered out one 'no' after the other.

"Lupa", Ira went on. "I'm so glad I got to meet you, Lupa. I only regret that I was too much a coward to propose earlier. And I really hate that I didn't get what comes after the wedding.

That actually made Lupa laugh a bit. It's not like they're relationship had been completely innocent, but the wedding night was always something special and the honeymoon even more.

"Idiot", she giggled.

"You finally smiled", Ira smiled. "Now I can die in peace."

"NO!" Lupa shrieked immediately. "Don't die! Please don't die on me!"

"I love you Lupa", was the last thing the albino said before all life left his eyes.

There were a few seconds of silence in which the world seemed to stand still. Lupa's expression went completely blank, only the tears that kept falling from her eyes and he shaky breathing spoke of the unimaginable pain she was feeling.

"I'm sorry, Ira", Lupa said and took a deep breath. "I'm afraid you were wrong. I'm not strong at all."

She held out her hand and let a dark blue energy ball appear above it. She took another, shaky breath and let it move towards her head full speed. But a black hand that emerged from the shadows took the ball and let it explode before it even came near the female's head.

"It's not that you're not strong, it's just that you're an idiot", Shane's voice came from behind.

Lupa didn't look at him. Her eyes were fixed on the dead body in front of her.

"I don't care, Shane", Lupa gave back. "I just want to be with Ira, that's all."

"And Ira wanted you to live."

"Yes … I know …"

Shane ran his hand through his fur and bangs and sighed deeply. He walked to Lupa, wrapped his arms around her chest and rested his head on hers.

"I know that you loved him", he said.

"Shane, do you remember when Master taught us about counterparts? How every person had one?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"I think Ira was mine." Her voice broke as she said that. "That's the only reason his death could hurt so much."

Shane didn't answer. He just held Lupa tight as she turned around and started crying into her best friend's chest.

"A … and the worst thing about it … he just proposed to me … and I didn't get to tell him … never … never got to tell him", she cried between sobs.

"What did you want to tell him?"

"Tell him … I wanted to tell him … that I'm pregnant."

Immediately, Shane's expression went blank.

"I'm pregnant, Shane! I'm carrying Ira's babies!"

()$()

There was no one there except for her and Shane. But ever since the day they helped the cat queen, Shane had a bit of a problem with births. So basically, Lupa was on her own when the pain started, telling her, that Ira's little cups we're ready to face life.

Shane managed to bring her to her room. He hated that room. It was always darkly lit. Since it was colored completely in dark red and black, it looked somewhat creepy. But it fit to Lupa's personality, which had only worsened after Ira's death. The first try to kill herself had only been the first of many and each time, Shane had stopped her and brought her back to her senses with the same words.

"What use is there in his sacrifice if you just throw your life away like that?" He would say. "That isn't what he died for."

She would always brake down and cry herself to sleep after that and Shane would always stay by her side until she had calmed down. Once she was asleep, he would stroke her pearl white hair and talk to her soothingly, knowing she didn't hear him anyways. It didn't matter what kind of crazy or cruel stuff she would do, he would always be by her side. Even if her love had left her, he would never leave his.

Even now, when she was giving birth to the pups of the person he hated most, he was by her side, although he was seriously fighting so that he wouldn't puke. The experience with the burnt kittens back at the cat's castle had left its toll. He fought to bear Lupa's cries and hold her hand anyways, making sure not look at the coming pups.

Only once they were out did he let go of her hand to reach her the twins that she had born. One was pitch black with one white tip on his tail and the small bangs on his forehead. The other one was pearly white and only the tip of his tail was black. The two of them were complete opposites, but Shane could already see that Lupa loved them both. If only one of them were to die, she would surely break for real. It was a good thing that both looked rather healthy.

The female was crying again, but this time silently and Shane knew they were tears of joy. Even though the person she had loved most was gone, with these two pups resting in her arms, she had found a new reason to live. And Shane hoped with all his might, that Lupa had finally let go of Ira.

**Oh, the tragedy. She might have been a bad person, but don't you just feel sorry for her?**


	5. Epilogue

**This is more of an epilogue than an actual chapter. It connects Lupa's adventure to that of Sonic and Co. Therefore, I shall just call it**

**Epilogue**

"You know I hate it when you sneak up on me like that", Lupa said tonelessly.

She closed the book she was reading and put it back on the shelf. Then, she soared along the bookshelf, skimming over the various titles in search for something useful.

"Deal with it", Shane answered coldly and stepped out of the shadows.

There was nothing interesting in the highest row, so Lupa started looking in second highest. Her hopes of finding something weren't high. This was the 13th library after all.

"Is he asleep?" the female asked, never stopping in her search for a book that would catch her interest.

"Safe and soundly", Shane responded and sat down on one of the chairs by the table.

The second row didn't have anything either, so she went even lower. The title of the fourth book in that row caught her interest and so she pulled it out of the shelf and started skimming in it. Three seconds later, she pulled a grimace and put it back on its place.

"It's amazing how good you are at this", Lupa said quietly. "You handle him better than I ever could."

"You could if you learned to let go. The only reason he's more attached to me is because he can feel that you're embittered."

Lupa didn't answer to that. She knew that he was right, but she refused to admit it. Instead, she went on scanning the bookshelf in silence while Shane watched her in silence. There was nothing more of interest in that shelf, so she flew to the opposite one.

"Do you think he knows that you're not his father?" she asked while she soared over her companions head.

"I'd rather say he feels it."

"Perhaps. He has a strong intuition for a cup so young."

She grabbed a book and browsed through it a bit before she threw it on the small pile of books on the table where Shane was sitting. Then she went on with her search.

"It's been six years, Lupa. Don't you think it's time to let him go?" Shane changed topics.

"I already have."

Shane gave an exasperated sigh and took one of the books that Lupa had put on the table. He opened it and started reading, knowing that this was the last thing he would hear of Lupa regarding that topic. After she put another three books on the pile, the female joined him and started scanning the books for information. One hour passed. Two hours passed. Three hours passed. The two worked off one book after another and the pile became smaller and smaller. Lupa didn't count how many books she went through, simply because she had scanned through too many books during the last six years. By now, she was doing all this mechanically. She had lost all hope of actually finding something that might help her.

After Ira died, Lupa had often tried to kill herself, but was always stopped by Shane. She couldn't bear not being where the love of her life was. To her, it hadn't mattered if she was dead or alive. The only important thing had been to be with Ira.

Once the twins were born, she started gaining her will to live back. Even though the black one had died early of a disease, Jun, who looked so much like his father, gave her the strength she needed. She had started lo live only for her little cup. But then, thoughts had started wandering around in her hand. She was a magician. She was powerful and yet, she couldn't do anything to get Ira back to life. She hadn't been able to accept this truth and so she had started searching, wandering from one library to the next, to find a way to get back her love.

There were only five books left, not counting the ones Shane and Lupa were reading that moment. And while skimming through her book, Lupa finally found something interesting. Her brows furrowed and she leaned deep into the book in order to grasp every word it said.

"Shane", she whispered. "Come here!"

Shane looked up from his book with a puzzled expression, but did as he was told nonetheless. He strolled over to Lupa and looked over her shoulder, which unfortunately was too far away for him to read the books tiny letters.

"What's it say?" he therefore asked.

"It's about the dimensional items."

"We already know about the dimensional items", Shane said, brows furrowing in confusion. "They're magically altered objects, created by our ancestors with the help of the hedgehogs and the griffins. They are bonded with the twelve mighty kingdoms, each one in another dimension and they keep up the balance of the walls that part them. What else is there to know?"

"According to this book, quite a lot. For example the power that they hold."

"They are magical items, Lupa, of course they're powerful."

"Shut up and listen to this: After dangerous attempts of stealing and using the Dimensional Item's powers, the six mages were forced to put up a protection mechanism. They bonded them to the bloodlines, set up this and that, blah, blah, blah, ah here we are; To make sure that not even the Kings and Queens could misuse their power, they summoned the god of wisdom, the only god that is also an Oracle, parted it into twelve and sealed each part into one Dimensional Item. The god of wisdom let it happen under one condition; it wanted a chance to get out every now and then. Therefore, they connected the items with each other, so that the god could be summoned. To actually get someone to unite the twelve items, it was announced that, whoever would summon it and temporarily free it, had one wish that it would fulfill, no matter what kind of wish it would be."

There was a long silence after this. The words that Lupa had just read were hanging in the air and made it so thick, that Shane felt like he could hardly breathe.

"Does this mean …" he breathed, not daring to finish his question. But Lupa understood him nonetheless.

"This means, my dear friend, that I can get Ira back."

"You're crazy!"

"Shut up!"

Although Shane would always try his best to talk Lupa out of it, she refused to listen and went on with her plan stubbornly. Never would she have imagined that gathering the twelve dimensional items would be that difficult.

Getting the first hadn't been a problem at all. She started with the dimension she was caught in, which happened to be dimension the lions lived in, the weakest of the twelve big kingdoms. Getting their dagger had been as easy as taking a lollipop from a baby and with the dagger at hand, she was able to go into any dimension she wanted to. Thanks to the book, she was also able to find out just what kind of power the lion's dagger held and was soon able to use it perfectly, thanks to her being an ancestor of its creator.

Next, she went to the kingdom of the sharks, where she knew the horn was being kept. Never had she expected to face Pythia's student there, one of the hedgehog's offspring's. Lupa saw immediately that the girl had quite some power, but her control was so bad, that even her six year old son would have been laughing at her for it. Still, Violett had caused her some trouble, but the moment she revealed that she had the diadem with her, all that trouble was worth it.

The two got caught up into a battle, which Violett lost of course. But the girl was smart and fled into another dimension before Lupa could take the diadem. So she took the horn before the sharks could even move and went after the hedgehog, where both of them had found new allies.

From that moment on, the real trouble started.

**And thus, Lupa's story has come to an end. But, as you all know, the end of one thing is the beginning of something new. Her story will take on a new form in my fanfic 'Dimensional Travels'. The real trouble that you just read about is also thoroughly explained in it. Now, as it is, this story has come to a finish, so I shall take my leave now. Goodbye and Farewell.**


End file.
